The Missing Dawson
by loner1357
Summary: Jason Dawson was a part of the Dawson family until something tragic happened. When he returns as the candidate for Truck 81, Antonio and Gabby are shocked, but they are not prepared for the man Jason has become.
1. Chapter 1

_**March 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **1990**_

" _You have got to be kidding me!" Jason yelled._

" _Calm down, Jason." Antonio said as he was holding the twelve-year-old back._

" _No!" Jason yelled. "He knows what he did was wrong and yet he is defending himself?"_

" _Honey? Calm down. You're going to hurt yourself." Mrs. Dawson said._

" _Jason, you need to calm down. Okay? This isn't going to help if you are angry." Gabby said._

 _Antonio's father was having none of it._

" _I didn't do anything wrong. There is only one thing that I did wrong my entire life and that would be fostering my stupid dead friend's son! No wonder they died. They didn't want you, so they burned themselves up." Mr. Dawson yelled._

 _Jason, who was livid before, was suddenly calm. To Antonio, that was scarier than him being angry._

 _But for Gabby, it was heartbreaking. She could see the tears that came in his eyes._

" _What?" Jason whispered after realizing the full extent of those words._

 _However, Mr. Dawson was drunk and wasn't holding it in anymore._

" _I'm calling social services. I can't take you in. Go live on the streets where you belong."_

 _Jason couldn't hold in his tears anymore._

" _Oh what, you're crying now? Well I bet you got that from your father. Just like they heard him crying like a little bitch when he went up in flames."_

 _Jason couldn't take it anymore. He ran upstairs to the room he was given. He packed his clothes in the single backpack he was given. As he went to the window, he saw the badge that his father gave to him for his tenth birthday. He took it and climbed down the window. He needed to get out of this neighborhood. Maybe even the city._


	2. Chapter 2

"Everyone, I need your attention in the briefing room in ten." Boden said while standing in the middle of the lounge.

Everyone filed into the briefing room.

Boden stood up in front of the white board.

"We have been chosen by the CFD to add a truck to our station."

"What?' Otis asked in shock.

"This does not change anything for you guys. You will all be in your positions as you are now. The only changes we are having is the new truck and its team."

"Do you know anything about them?" Hermann asked.

Boden looked at them and smiled.

"The lieutenant for Engine One is the most amazing person I have ever met. He made lieutenant at the age of 22 after becoming a firefighter at the age of 19. Sadly, he and I were there during the World Trade Center attacks. I saw him command his team with precision and that was only when he was acting lieutenant. His team will be the elite squad of Firehouse 51. This is from the city, not me. However, I assure that I know this man. He will not be cocky and will not be a pain in our ass. He's here for a new life. I suggest we welcome him. He actually should be here any minute now."

Just then Connie tapped on the door before she opened it.

"Connie. Is he here?" asked Boden.

"No, he's late."

That made everyone laugh.

"Some lieutenant." Severide said.

Before Boden could answer the bell rang.

"Squad 3, Truck 81, Ambulance 61, vehicular collision…."

Everyone got in their gear and loaded the trucks.

* * *

When they arrived, the noticed a pickup truck that was on fire, standstill in the middle of a downward hill.

"What the hell?" Casey said as he pointed out something in front of the car.

In front of the truck was an unconscious pregnant woman lying on her back. However, that was not the bizarre thing that surprised them. Stopping the car from rolling onto the woman was a man holding it back. He had his shoulders and top half of his back on the bumper with his arms spread out. He was using his legs as support, lodging them against the ground in front of him.

Boden immediately recognized who it was.

"Casey, get the fire. Severide, stop the truck. Chili, get set up for two victims."

Boden then turned to the guy in front of the truck and recognized who it was.

"Man, are you crazy?" Boden screamed.

The guy didn't respond. He was too busy stopping the truck from crushing the pregnant woman.

Casey and Hermann stabilized the fire while Severide and Cruz got boards to stop the truck from rolling.

"Alright man, you can let go."

The man shook his head no.

"Not enough support."

Severide called in for the truck to turn and pull the pickup from the other side.

"No." The man said. "Too long."

"What?" Casey asked.

"Did you put out the fire?" The man asked.

"Yeah." Casey responded.

"Take wheels off."

"What?"

"It's not stable. Take the wheels off."

Boden understood what the man was saying.

"Severide, get these wheels off. Casey, help support the truck. You, get off the truck."

"No offense Chief, but get the woman out of here safely, then I'll let go."

Casey, Hermann, Otis, and Mouch helped support the truck. Severide, Cruz, and Capp took the wheels of. Casey and the others slowly put the car down, which let the man finally roll away from the car.

Boden offered him a hand.

"You are the stupidest son of a bitch I have ever known." Boden said.

"Well, it has its perks."

They looked at each other before laughing and hugging.

"Everyone, pack up." Boden said.

* * *

Everyone was settled in the briefing room once again except for Gabby and Sylvie because they were transporting the patient.

"Everyone, this is our new lieutenant for Engine One, Jason Dawson." Boden said.

Casey immediately looked at Severide who looked back at him. _Dawson?_ They both mouthed off to each other.

Everyone had the same question in their minds and Jason could see the confusion.

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

"Yeah," Severide said, "it's just -"

"Jason?" Everyone heard from the door behind them.

Jason turned around to see Gabby Dawson. The same girl that he thought at one point was his sister, is standing in front of him.

Boden was just as confused. He thought Jason's last name was a coincidence.

"Gabby." Jason said flatly.

"What, that's all I get?" Gabby asked.

"That's all you deserve." Jason said putting an end to the conversation and making the atmosphere uncomfortable to everyone.

Jason turned to Boden. "Uh, Chief if there's nothing else I'm gonna see you tomorrow."

Boden nodded. "I'm glad you're here."

"I am too. Been way too long." Jason said before he left the room. Gabby got over her shock and followed him out the door. Unknown to her, the rest of the firehouse did as well, but stayed out of sight.

Jason was walking back to his car when he heard Gabby call his name.

"15 years, and all I get is a Gabby?!"

Jason stopped and turned around. "Don't. Okay. Don't play the victim here. You don't get to."

"What?"

Jason shook his head. "Just do the best thing you have ever done for me in my life and stay the hell away."

He got in his car and drove away, leaving Gabby sad and confused in front of the firehouse.

* * *

Jason entered his childhood home. After it burned down, the new owners rebuilt the house. Now since they left, Jason was able to put a down payment for the decent four-bedroom house.

He hung up his coat in the closet and took his shoes off. As he bent down, he heard the sound of small feet shuffling through down the stairs to meet him. He turned around just as a small child jumped into his arms.

"Daddy!" The girl screamed.

"Hey princess. Did you have a good day?"

The child moved her head up and down. "Why doos you smells like smock?"

Jason just chuckled at his daughter's mispronunciation. "Cause daddy had to help people."

"Cause daddy's superman!" The girl yelled.

Jason smiled. "Come on, Izzy. I'll make you some mac and cheese."

* * *

Jason heard a knock on his door while he was washing the dishes. Isabel was next to him and immediately grabbed onto his leg.

"Okay, so I want you to go to your room. Lock the door, get under the bed, and wait for me, okay?"

"Daddy, I wants tuh stays. I scary."

Jason knelt down to eye level. "Isabella Camilla Dawson, you are the strongest girl I know. I need to check the door and make sure that the bad guys don't get you again. Can you go to your room please?"

Isabella nodded and ran up to her room.

Jason got his handgun and slowly walked to the door. He opened the door, just a crack to see who it was. He couldn't see from that angle, so he quickly opened the door and pointed his gun to the person in front of him, Antonio Dawson.


	3. Chapter 3

"What do you want?" Jason asked Antonio as he stepped outside.

"We're here to see you." Antonio said.

"We?"

Antonio pointed to the sidewalk where Gabby was walking up to the house.

"Why? Why now, after all these years?" Jason asked both of them.

"Why don't you give us a chance to explain?" Gabby asked.

Jason hesitated for a moment before opening his door.

He led them to the kitchen, where he placed his gun away, leant back against the counter, and sighed.

"Explain."

* * *

"What did you want us to say that night?" Antonio asked.

"Something!" Jason yelled.

Gabby got up. "What could we do, Jason? He's our father. No matter what HE'S OUR FATHER!"

"BUT HE WAS WRONG!" Jason yelled back, this time with tears in his eyes. "He was spreading lies, making false accusations on my dead mother and dead father, and you all had the nerve to not say anything that night?"

Antonio and Gabby were tired, not able to figure out how to make Jason understand, but Jason's next question got them off guard.

"Did you guys even love me?" Jason asked quietly.

Antonio and Gabby raised their heads up fast in shock.

"Did I do something wrong to you… Did I ever mistreat you… I..I..I.." Jason was cut off by a small voice near the doorway.

"Daddy?"

All three off them turned and looked at the girl. Jason saw that she was holding her blue teddy bear, which was only used in times she was really scary.

"Hey princess." Jason said as he walked over towards his daughter and picked her up.

"Doos they makes you cry?" She asked while wiping one of the tears falling down his cheek.

Jason wiped the rest of his tears off with his free hand and shook his head. "No, we're just talking. What happened, you scared?"

The girl nodded and wrapped her hands around her father's neck.

Jason calmed down at her touch, realizing the only other person who could do that no longer existed on this earth.

"It's ok princess. Daddy's got you."

Jason turned around to the stunned siblings.

"Do you want to meet some friends of mine?" Jason asked.

Isabella turned around to see the people in front of her father. He let her down, in hopes she would greet them. Instead, she walked straight to Gabby and hit her with her teddy bear.

"DON'T…HURTS…DADDY…EVERS…AGINS!" Isabella yelled as she hit Gabby with each word.

All three stood in shock. Gabby and Antonio had their mouths open while Jason just stood not knowing what to do. Isabella kept hitting Gabby with her bear until Jason walked and grabbed Isabella.

"Isabella," He softly said, "do you know who this is?"

Isabella shook her head.

"It's Aunt Gabby. Remember I told you about my sister?"

Gabby's heart broke when she heard Jason call her his sister.

"And this is Uncle Antonio. Remember I told you about my brother?"

Antonio couldn't stop the tears that filled his eyes.

"They are family." Jason said looking at them.

"And what do I always say about family?"

"Family sticks to-te-ter."

* * *

Jason was able to calm Isabella down before she lashed out again. He took her up to her room when she started dozing off. When he came back down, Gabby and Antonio were still there.

Gabby ran into him and threw her arms around his neck when he walked into the kitchen.

"I'm so sorry." She sobbed.

Jason's hands shook as he hugged her back. He couldn't hold the tears that escaped his eyes.

Antonio came and hugged the both of them. "I'm sorry too, man."

After a few minutes of just standing there, Jason took them to the living room and sat them down.

"So, what have you done since you left? Where were you?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah, and how did you know Boden?" Gabby added to the list of questions.

Jason sighed. He took a deep breath before sitting on the couch across from them.

"After I jumped down that window, I spent the next week at a shelter. One day I met up with a few kids. They were Zack, Maggie, Sarah, Freddie, and Laura. Oh, Laura…" He sighed.

Gabby smiled. She knows that this means Jason found a person he loved.

"After we met up in a tunnel, we stole a car and just kept driving. Gas was hard though as we worked for an entire day for a full tank." Jason smiled at the looks of Gabby and Antonio's faces.

"Three weeks later we found ourselves in Alexandria. There was this rundown house, so we thought we would settle for a few days. But, a couple of days later, police showed up in the middle of the night. So we were all arrested, but put in the system the next day. Next thing you know, Zack's in LA, Maggie's in Cleveland, Sarah's in Tampa, Freddie's in Boston, and Laura's in Seattle. I got put in Alexandria with a firefighter family. That was ironic."

Jason paused at the memory. Being separated from Laura for years hurt him in many ways.

"So anyway, DCFS found a family for me." Jason started telling his life story to them.

* * *

 _Jason was just ten years old when he walked into that home. Mark and Wendy Brown picked him up from DCFS. The woman who handled his case told him she made sure that the couple has three kids and was unsuccessful in trying for another kid, so they decided to foster._

 _Jason was led to the door where the couple was waiting for him._

 _The father greeted him first._

" _Hey, Jason. My name is Mark. This is Wendy." He said pointing Wendy. "We're gonna foster you, ok?"_

 _Jason nodded with tears in his eyes. Without even knowing what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around Mark's waist and cried. Wendy kneeled down to his height and soothed him by rubbing her hand on his back. For 10 years, he was actually scrawny. Wendy picked him up, just like she would have with a toddler. They walked to the car and drove home._

 _Jason walked into the house holding Wendy's hand. He heard the running footsteps down the stairs of the enormous five-bedroom house. He was scared and hid behind Wendy._

" _It's okay, sweetie." Wendy said. "These are your brother and sister."_

 _Jason watched from behind as a tall boy and two girls ran down the stairs._

" _Is he here?" The boy asked._

" _Yes. He's here, but be careful Max." Mark said._

" _Ok." Max responded before kneeling down in front of Wendy._

" _Hi. My name is Max. I'm your big brother." Max said._

 _Max pointed to the girl behind him. "That's Haley and Abigail."_

 _He then turned back to Jason. "I'm 16. Haley is 12 and Abigail is 7. We're so happy that you're here."_

 _Haley and Abigail walked up behind Max. Abigail was the first one to hug Jason, still with her purple teddy bear. When she let Jason go, Haley hugged him. Jason was still the entire time, but liked the warm feeling he got when embraced by this family._

 _Next thing he knew, Jason was picked up by Max. Max ran up the stairs bringing giggles out of Jason. He put him down in front of the door of his room. Jason looked shyly at Mark who came up the stairs after them._

" _Go ahead. Open it." He said._

 _Jason opened his door and walked into the room. It had a bed and a TV on the opposite wall. There was a desk and a closet. Everything else was empty._

 _Jason turned around in the room, looking at everything. He walked to the window and saw that it showed the neighborhood he was in._

" _We didn't know what you liked, so we thought you would choose what posters and stuff to put in here." Wendy said._

 _Jason put his backpack on the bed before looking at the family in front of him. He couldn't understand why he was so lucky._

* * *

Jason looked at Antonio and Gabby before looking at the clock.

"It's getting late and Isabella will be wondering where I am. She can't sleep unless I'm there."

Antonio and Gabby got up and walked to the door.

Antonio turned around and spoke. "On Saturday, Diego and Eva are coming over for some family time. Ever since Laura and I split, we haven't had a lot of those. I want you to come too. Gabby and Matt will also be there. Bring Isabella as well. It's time we became a family again."

Jason nodded before Antonio and Gabby walked out. He closed the door and exhaled, releasing the stress that's been haunting him since moving from New York.

He got upstairs, washed his face, changed into his grey jogger sweatpants and plain white t-shirt. He walked into his daughter's bedroom. He saw how peacefully she was sleeping and holding onto her bear. He quietly got into the covers next to her.

As if she could sense his presence, Isabella turned into Jason and snuggled up into him. He could feel her heartbeat as she lay on his arm. He let her slow and peaceful breathing serenade him to sleep. He had a big day for his first shift and he needed his rest.


End file.
